The present invention relates to the mounting of disposable containers for hospital sharps and dispensing containers for hospital supplies, and pertains particularly to a mounting bracket assembly for mounting a supply container to a mounting bracket of a disposable container.
Hospitals and medical clinics use great quantities of sharps, such as needles, syringes, surgical blades, and the like, that are disposed of rather than cleaned and reused. It is necessary that the sharps be disposed of in a manner that prevents them being reused without sterilization. In particular, it is necessary to keep them from falling into the hands of those, such as intravenous drug users and the like, who are likely to use them without proper sterilization.
Numerous containers have been developed in recent years, which are reasonably secure and disposable for receiving and disposing of hospital sharps, wastes and the like. Many of these disposable containers, however, are out dated and do not provide adequate security against pilfering of used syringes and the like from such containers. While improved containers have been developed which cannot readily be reopened and articles cannot be easily removed therefrom, such containers must be kept in a secure place or securely mounted to non-removable structure to prevent unauthorized removal. The disposable container and its mounting bracket must not only be secure, it must be simple and inexpensive to manufacture, and it must be simple and easy to use and to mount and remove the container.
Reasonably secure mounting brackets have been developed and are widely used to prevent unauthorized removal of the containers. However, more recently developed improved containers have new and improved mounting brackets which are easier to mount and use and are more secure. These brackets are typically mounted on walls or similar surfaces and are securely anchored by lag bolts and the like.
An example of a recently developed improved container and mounting bracket is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,997, granted Apr. 14, 1992 to Shillington et al. This patent discloses a sharps container having a mounting bracket adapted to be mounted to a wall with inter-engaging projections and slots on the bracket and container, and a locking lever for securing the container to the bracket.
There is always a need for convenient placement and mounting of other containers, such as supply containers. In most examining and operating rooms, there already exists a number of containers conveniently mounted to walls and other support structure.
It is, therefore, desirable that an improved bracket assembly be available for mounting a second container to a bracket of a first container.